Open weave anti-slip glove



Sept. `19, 1967 B. M. RoBBlNs OPEN WEAVE ANTI- SLIP GLOVE Filed Dec. l2, 1966 INVENTOR Seulah M Robbins United States Patent O 3,341,861 OPEN WEAVE ANTI-SLIP GLOVE Beulah M. Robbins, 1818 Q St. SE., Washington, D.C. 20020 Filed Dec. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 600,952 1 Claim. (Cl. 2--163) ABSTRAC'` 0F Tri-IE DISCLOSURE A glove for use by ofiice workers made of open mesh and hard surface ma-terial, the finger por-tions thereof being covered with anti-slip material which `does not fill the openings in said material, the latter being stretchable and resistant to spalling.

This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 469, 253, filed July 2, 1965, now abandoned.

The present invention relates generally to an item of protective wearing apparel and more particul-arly to gloves which are designed to be worn by persons engaged in general office work.

For persons whose work requires the sorting and separation of papers, cleaning and changing of typewriter ribbons, and other similar routine ofiice tasks, it has been customary to wear rubber fingers which cover only the tips of the forefinger and thumb, Although the so-called rubber fingers are perforated, Ithey are not porous to the extent that they are breatheable and hence the portions of the fingers covered thereby become hot and perspire. In occupations requiring handling of freshly printed papers, the damp ink thereon has a tendency to rub off and it is desirable in these instances for those persons handling the printed papers to wear a protective glove on all fingers coming into contact with the damp surface, and as well, a good portion of the hand. Furthermore, the instant invention provides protection from injuries to the hand often sustained by ofiice workers in normal paper Work, such as paper cuts, finger punctures, scratches from staples, callouses, hang nails, broken finger nails and related injuries.

The gloves proposed heretofore which provide the degree of protection desired have necessarily sacrificed other features which enhance their utility, and in fact, are often essential. That is, the gloves of the prior art have incorporated thereon a film forming substance which is deposited on and between interstices of the weave to provide a tenacious gripping area. However, these gloves do not possess the porosity which is necessary to provide ventilation and to prevent the iiow of air or perspiration therethrough to cool the hand inside of the glove. Moreover, the continuity of the film former in and over the fabric surface renders the coated areas less flexible and pliable and the resulting increased rigidity seriously impairs the freedom and maneuverability of the wearer thereof.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a method of producing an improved glove having the finger portions or stalls thereof coated with a film forming material thereby to provide for a more positive gripping surface.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved glove of knitted or open weave material, said material being of the synthetic resin type, as nylon, presenting a relatively hard surface and having applied thereto a coating of a film forming material which is breatheable and assures adequate ventilation.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved shortie glove having the finger portions thereof coated with a flexible and resiliant film former to provide a gripping or frictional surface which "ice also gives the wearer a substantial measure of protection against ink stains.

A broad embodiment Iof the present invention encompasses the process of aplying a film forming material having anti-slip properties to a stretch glove which is formed from a knitted fabric having a loose weave. The strands used in the knitted article are widely spaced so that the coating material applied thereto will coat only the strands themselves, leaving the interstices therebetween substantially open. These gloves may be woven from cotton, nylon, rayon, acrylonitrile, copolymers thereof, or any other similar synthetic resin used in forming fiexible fabrics. One criteria to be followed in the selection of the particular materials is the selection of a fabric which will adhesively and cohesively unite with the particular film former.

Another requirement is that the knitted or lace material be of nylon or similar synthetic, such as to present a relatively hard surface, such hard surface preventing pilling or catching onto rough surfaces, as a soft material might do.

It has been found that natural rubber latexes provide a suitable non-slip surface on the fingers of the glove. Other film formers such as butadiene-styrene, copolymers GR-S and silicone rubbers, neoprene, buna N and butyl rubbers may also be employed as film formers to yield a similar non-slip surface on the glove fingers. These natural or synthetic rubbers employed herein may be applied in either a latex or solution form. The particular solvent used should be a selective solvent fo-r the film former.

Thus, the instant invention refers to the production of a glove which has rubber-coated (or similar substance) finger stalls-ie., front, back and tip of each stall-the complete tip of the stall being coated. This glove is particularly adapted for use by the ofiice worker for filing, searching and in general office work.

It protects the hands from paper cuts, broken nails, hangnails, staple punctures, scratches and keeps them from becoming rough and callous.

These gloves are short in design, without fasteners, easily put on and removed, and they are washable and nice looking. They protect the hands from ink stains (typewriter ribbons, ink pads), dirt and dust in general. The rubber coating `also protects the gloves from wear and tear which renders them long lasting.

Although both the rubber coating and glove fibers may be mutually soluble in the solvent, it is preferable to use a solvent having little or n-o solvent activity toward the glove fabric. However, in some instances, it is desirable for the fiber to have a slight solubility in the solvent in order to soften the fiber surfaces `and render them tacky and more receptive to the application of the film former. When the fiber surface has been softened in the manner described heretofore, the solution of lm former penetrates directly into the fibers forming an interdispersion with the fibrous material and there is thus obtained a much stronger and tenacious bond.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent in the description hereinafter which is 4directed to the preferred embodiment thereof.

The glove and method of making same which are shown in the accompanying drawings are exemplary only and are not intended to be restrictive as regards this new and novel method and article produced thereby.

A more particular description of the invention will be given with respect to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l is an elevational view of the glove to be used in the present invention showing the widely spaced pattern of weave of the fabric making up the same.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention depicting one manner of coating the glove wherein the fingers of a glove are being dipped into a liquid coating medium.

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of a glove produced by the method of this invention and illustrating specifically the portions of the glove fingers which are to be coated with the slip resistant film former.

FIGURE 4 is a cross sectional view taken on line 4 4 of FIGURE 3 and illustrating the manner in which the process coats the individual fibers without filling in the interstices between the fibers.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, there is provided a conventional glove with five fingers, generally indicated at 1, made from a knitted fabric having a loose or widely spaced weave, and thus to provide a stretch fabric. This glove 1 may then be coated by dipping or immersing the fingertips 2, as shown in FIGURE 2, into a liquid 4 containing the desired film former therein. The dipping operation thus described is very simply and readily performed and is usually repeated with all four fingers and thumb of the glove. Alternatively, the latex or other suitable material may be simply brushed on by hand.

A glove prepared according to the invention as described above is shown in FIGURE 3. It will be noted that FIGURE 3 illustrates a glove of open knitted mesh material with only the ends or tips of the fingers coated with the anti-slip film former. In case the occupation of the user requires a greater area of the fingers to come in contact with a slippery or damp surface, still further and greater portions of the fingers may be coated to provide a full measure of protection.

A cross sectional view -of the coated fingers produced by this invention and taken on line 3 3 in FIGURE 3 is illustrated in FIGURE 4. Here it is seen that the finger portion has a thinly applied layer of the film former 5 applied to each individual strand of the fabric and further, that the coating material does not span the woven fibers to fill the interstices therebetween.

The following example is given for the purpose of illustrating clearly the method of manufacturing the coated glove encompassed by the present invention. It is understood that the present invention is not to be unduly limited, beyond the scope and spirit of the ap- -pended claim, by the conditions or materials employed in this example. When considered in conjunction with the accompanying FIGURES 1 to 4, the data presented with the example will indicate the benefits to be afforded through the utilization of the present invention.

EXAMPLE I A nylon glove made of knitted, hard-surfaced nylon thread, and having open pores evenly dispersed throughout, was dipped into a latex solution of natural rubber. The latex contained a rubber of extremely small particle size so that the individual particles did not fill the interstices or referred to openings between the fabric strands. The glove having the coating thereon was then allowed to dry in room temperature. The thus treated glove exhibited non-slip fingertips and was found to aid in separating papers and even in preventing the wearers fingers from becoming soiled when changing a typewriter ribbon. A

The foregoing example and accompanying drawings present but one of the several embodiments contemplated as within the scope of the present invention. It will be apparent that the numerous modifications and variations may be made to the glove comprising the present invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the claim appended hereto.

I claim:

-A porous hand covering for paper ofiice work comprising a relatively open and loose weave glove formed of yarn 4of synthetic resinous material, said material comprising a stretch fabric having a hard surface, said open evenly spaced weave providing substantially evenly spaced pores throughout said glove, the ends of the finger portions up to the first finger joint being coated with a rubber-like, non-slip material, said material covering only the said yarn and not penetrating nor filling said pores, said finger portions forming anti-slip surfaces, and said open weave permitting cooling of the hands of the wearer, including the said coated finger portions thereof, the said hard surface of said material being resistant to spalling and said anti-slip surfaces providing porous paper-engaging surfaces.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,349,290 5/1944 Loughborough 2-167 X 2,703,887 3/1955 Kennedy 2-167 2,988,453 6/1961 Gatcom-b 2-167 X 3,165,423 l/l965 Caldwell et al. 2-167 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

